Five-star back Hood commits to Notre Dame

April 28, 2013|By Brian Hamilton | Tribune reporter

Notre Dame had seven commitments in its Class of 2014 recruiting haul before Sunday.

It may not do much better than No. 8.

Elijah Hood, a five-star running back ranked No. 1 at his position nationally by Rivals.com, announced his oral commitment to the Irish on Twitter just hours after a two-and-a-half day visit to South Bend.

The 5-foot-11, 221-pound Hood is a Charlotte, N.C., native and is the No. 12 player overall according to Rivals' latest rankings. He is the Irish's first five-star commitment in the current recruiting cycle and eases the sting of losing out on prized running back recruit Sony Michel to Georgia.

"He got home and he's like, 'I'm gonna pull the cord,'" father Vee Hood told Irish Illustrated. "I said go ahead. We're ready. We'll get to talk to Brian Kelly and talk to him about things. There was a lot of pressure on him right now. He's just a kid, he wants to have a fun senior year. That's the whole thing."